A method of forming patterns includes (a) coating a substrate with a resist composition for negative development to form a resist film, wherein the resist composition contains a resin capable of increasing the polarity by the action of the acid and becomes more soluble in a positive developer and less soluble in a negative developer upon irradiation with an actinic ray or radiation, (b) forming a protective film on the resist film with a protective film composition after forming the resist film and before exposing the resist film, (c) exposing the resist film via an immersion medium, and (d) performing development with a negative developer.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method for producing a semiconductor device, comprising a method of forming patterns on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the method of forming patterns comprises: (a) coating the seminconductor substrate with a resist composition for negative development to form a resist film, wherein the resist composition contains a resin capable of increasing its polarity by the action of an acid and becomes more soluble in positive developer and less soluble in negative developer upon irradiation with an actinic ray or radiation, (b) forming a protective film on the resist film with a protective film composition after forming the resist film and before exposing the resist film, (c) exposing the resist film via an immersion medium, and (d) performing development with a negative developer which consists essentially of an ester solvent.
2. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the process (d) of performing development comprises a process of removing the protective film composition and soluble portions of the resist film at the same time.
3. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the method of forming patterns further comprises: (e) performing development with a positive developer.
4. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the protective film has a rate of dissolution into the negative developer in a range of 1 nm/sec to 300 nm/sec.
5. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the protective film composition contains a resin having at least either a fluorine atom or a silicon atom.
6. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the protective film composition contains a solvent different from the negative developer.
7. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the ester solvent is selected from the group consisting of butyl acetate, amyl acetate, and ethyl-3-ethoxypropionate.
8. A method for producing a semiconductor device, comprising a method of forming patterns on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the method of forming patterns comprises: (a) coating the semiconductor substrate with a resist composition for negative development to form a resist film, wherein the resist composition contains a resin capable of increasing its polarity by the action of an acid and becomes more soluble in positive developer and less soluble in negative developer upon irradiation with an actinic ray or radiation, (b) forming a protective film on the resist film with a protective film composition after forming the resist film and before exposing the resist film, (c) exposing the resist film via an immersion medium, and (d) performing development with a negative developer, wherein the negative developer comprises as least one solvent selected from the group consisting of butyl acetate, amyl acetate, and ethyl-3-ethoxypropionate.
9. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 8 , wherein the process (d) of performing development comprises a process of removing the protective film composition and soluble portions of the resist film at the same time.
10. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 8 , wherein the method of forming patterns further comprises: (e) performing development with a positive developer.
11. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 8 , wherein the protective film has a rate of dissolution into the negative developer in a range of 1 nm/sec to 300 nm/sec.
12. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 8 , wherein the protective film composition contains a resin having at least either a fluorine atom or a silicon atom.
13. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 8 , wherein the protective film composition contains a solvent different from the negative developer.
14. A method for producing a semiconductor device, comprising a method of forming patterns on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the method of forming patterns comprises: (a) coating the semiconductor substrate with a resist composition for negative development to form a resist film, wherein the resist composition contains a resin capable of increasing its polarity by the action of an acid and becomes more soluble in positive developer and less soluble in negative developer upon irradiation with an actinic ray or radiation, (b) forming a protective film on the resist film with a protective film composition after forming the resist film and before exposing the resist film, (c) exposing the resist film via an immersion medium, and (d) performing development with a negative developer consisting essentially of an organic solvent having a boiling point of from 80° C. to 174° C.
15. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 14 , wherein the process (d) of performing development comprises a process of removing the protective film composition and soluble portions of the resist film at the same time.
16. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 14 , wherein the method of forming patterns further comprises: (e) performing development with a positive developer.
17. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 14 , wherein the protective film has a rate of dissolution into the negative developer in a range of 1 nm/sec to 300 nm/sec.
18. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 14 , wherein the protective film composition contains a resin having at least either a fluorine atom or a silicon atom.
19. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 14 , wherein the protective film composition contains a solvent different from the negative developer.
20. A method for producing a semiconductor device, comprising a method of forming patterns on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the method of forming patterns comprises: coating the semiconductor substrate with a resist composition for negative development to form a resist film, wherein the resist composition contains a resin capable of increasing its polarity by the action of an acid and becomes more soluble in a positive developer which is an alkali developer and less soluble in a negative developer containing an organic solvent upon irradiation with an actinic ray or radiation, forming a protective film on the resist film with a protective film composition after forming the resist film and before exposing the resist film, exposing the resist film containing the protective film via an immersion medium, and performing development with the negative developer.
21. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 20 , wherein the protective film composition and soluble portions of the resist film are removed at the same time by the development using the negative developer.
22. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 20 , comprising: developing the resist film after exposure by using the positive developer at least either after or before the development using the negative developer.
23. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 20 , wherein the rate of dissolution of the protective film composition into the negative developer after film formation is in a range of 1 nm/sec to 300 nm/sec.
24. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 20 , wherein the protective film composition contains a resin having at least either a fluorine atom or a silicon atom.
25. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 20 , wherein the protective film composition contains a solvent different from the negative developer in component.
26. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 20 , wherein the organic solvent which the negative developer contains is at least one organic solvent selected from the group consisting of a ketone solvent, an ester solvent or an ether solvent.
27. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 20 , wherein the method of forming patterns comprises cleaning using an organic solvent-containing rinse liquid after the development using the negative developer.
28. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 27 , wherein the organic solvent which the rinse liquid contains is an alcohol solvent.
29. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 20 , wherein the immersion medium is water.
30. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 20 , wherein the resin capable of increasing the polarity by the action of the acid is a resin having mononuclear or polynuclear alicyclic hydrocarbon structure.
31. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 20 , wherein the resin capable of increasing the polarity by the action of the acid is a resin having no aromatic group.
32. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 26 , wherein the organic solvent which the negative developer contains is a ketone solvent.
33. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 26 , wherein the organic solvent which the negative developer contains is an ester solvent.
34. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 26 , wherein the organic solvent which the negative developer contains is an ether solvent.
35. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 30 , wherein the resin is an alicyclic hydrocarbon-containing acid-decomposable resin having a repeating unit having an alicyclic hydrocarbon-containing partial structure represented by any of the following formula (pI) or (pII): wherein R 11 represents a methyl group, an ethyl group, an n-propyl group, an isopropyl group, an n-butyl group, an isobutyl group or a sec-butyl group, and Z represents atoms forming a cycloalkyl group together with the carbon atom; and R 12 to R 14 each represents a straight-chain or branched alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atom(s), or a cycloalkyl group independently, provided that at least one of R 12 to R 14 represents a cycloalkyl group.
36. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 35 , wherein the repeating unit is a repeating unit represented by the following formula (pA): wherein each R represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom or a straight-chain or branched alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atom(s), two or more Rs may be the same or different, A represents a single bond, an alkylene group, an ether group, a thioether group, a carbonyl group, an ester group, an amido group, a sulfonamido group, a urethane group, a urea group, or a combination of two or more of the groups recited above, and Rp 1 represents any of the formula (pI) or (pII).
37. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 24 , wherein the protective film composition contains a resin having a fluorine atom.
38. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 24 , wherein the protective film composition contains a resin having a silicon atom.
39. The method for producing a semiconductor device of claim 20 , wherein the exposure is performed using ArF excimer laser light.
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October 27, 2011
December 31, 2013
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